The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1887-12-15

To tell how loved her.
Three years ago the baby came
Our humble home to bless,
And then | reck on was nigh
To perfect happiness;
Twas hers-'twas mine; but no lan-
guage
Have to explain to you
How that little girls weak fingers
Our hearts together drew.
Once we watched it through fever,
And with each gasping breath,
Dumb, with an awful worldless woe,
We waited for its death;
And, though I'm not aipious man.
Our souls together there,
For heaven to spare our darling,
Went up in voiceless prayer.
And when the doctor said 'twould live
Our Joy what words could tellS
Clasped in each others arms we stood
And our grateful tears fell
Across our little nest,
Bat it only made the sunshine seem
A doubly welcome guest
Work came to me plenty,
And kept the anvil ringing
Early and late you'd find me there,
A-hammering and singing;
Love nerved my arm to labor,
And moved my tongue to song,
And though my singing wasn't sweet,
1t was tremendous strong.
One day a one armed stranger stopped
To have me nail shoe,
r:s.,aa! whine. lsss a'-@-ork-y2 -pasaed
A compliment or two;
l asked him how he lost his arm.
He said twas shot away
At Malvern Hill. "At Malvern Hill !!
Did you know Robert May2"
"That's me-" said he. You, you ~
gasped,
Choking with horrid doubt;
"If you're the man, just follow me
Well try this mystery outl
With dizzy steps led him to
Ny Mary. God God twas true
Then the hitterest pangs OF misery
Unspeakable knew.
Frozen with deadly horror,
She started with eyes OF stone,
And from her quiv'ing lips there broke
One wild despairing moan.
Twas he! the husband of her youth,
Now risen from the dead.
But all too late-and with bitter cry,
Keeling, her senses fled.
What could be done1 He was believed
As dead. On his return
He strove in vain some tidings
OF his absent wife to learn.
Twas well that he was innocent,
Else I'd have killed him, too,
So dead he never would have riz
Till dabrill's trumpet blew'
1t was agreed that Mary then
Between us should decide,
And each by her decision
opiNO'
No sinner at the judgment-seat,
Waiting eternal doom,
Could suffer what then did,
Waiting sentence in that room.
Rigid and breathless there we stood,
With nerves as tense as steel,
While Mary's eyes sought each whit
face
In piteous appeal.
God! could not woman's duty
Be less hardly reconciled
Between her lawful husband
And the father Of her child.
All! how my heart was chilled to see,
When she knelt down and said
Forgive, me, joint IT'S my HUSBAND
Here-alive, not dead ~
raised her tenderly, and tried
To tell her she was right,
But somehow in my aching breast
The prisoned words stuck tight.
But, John, Icannot leave babyw
What! wife and childm cried l.
Must l yield all Ali, cruel fate
Better that should die.
Think OF the long, sad, lonely hours
Waiting In gloom for me
NO wife to cheer me with her love,
No babe to climb my knee
And yet you are here mother,
And the sacred mother love
Is still the purcst, tenderest tie
That heaven ever wove.
Take her, but promise, Mary
For that Will bring me shame
My little girl shall bear and learn
TO lisp her fathers's namev'
1t may be, In the life to come,
III meet my child and wife
bnt yonder, by my cottage gate,
We parted for this life;
one long hand>grasp from Mary,
And my dream OF love was done
One long embrace FROM baby,
4 AID my happiness was gone.